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[-] ChojinDSL@discuss.tchncs.de 227 points 2 months ago

Immutable in this context refers to an OS that can't be changed while running. Steam deck does something like that. Basically the all of the OS system files are read only, so that the user or some malware can't Bork the system. The only parts that are writable are the users profile directory and the logs.

You can still receive updates and install apps. It's just that that's handled a bit differently than with a standard OS.

E.g. it could be that the OS provider only issues complete updates, and then you either have to reboot. This is the case with steam os on the steam deck. The System portion of the OS is mounted read only during use.

[-] Blubber28@lemmy.world 16 points 2 months ago

I've read several topics trying to explain it and this single comment does a way better job, thank you XD

If you don't mind me asking a follow-up, why are non-immutable OS's in Linux more popular? Or in other words, is there a definite downside to an immutable OS that people should be wary of? I was planning to install Fedora 40 soon, but now I think I may opt for the Atomic one (with the KDE env) instead.

[-] wfh@lemm.ee 15 points 2 months ago

Regular Linux distros have 30+ years of history. It's what most of us are used to. Immutable/atomic/transactional OSes are relatively recent hence the relatively low adoption rate.

Also, atomic OSes are, by nature, much harder to tinker with. After all, the goal is to provide the exact same image for all users. As a power user, it's a bit frustrating. As a new user, having a virtually unborkable system is excellent.

If you plan on installing an atomic variant of Fedora, may I suggest uBlue Aurora instead of Fedora Kinoite? It is based on Silverblue/Kinoite but includes by default, among other QOL improvements, the restricted-licence codecs that must be manually installed in official Fedora products.

[-] kurcatovium@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago

Well, currently I use Tumbleweed with just couple of tweaks, but I can't live without things like Yakuake, fish, yt-dlp and bunch of other console commands that are not present in most dostros' defaults. How does atomic distribution handle this? I believe flatpak only has gui applications...

// I just diacovered Yakuake is there, but I can't imagine how does this specific program integrate with system?

[-] wfh@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

You can layer basically any RPM onto the base system with rpm-ostree, but it's slow and inefficient, or you can install anything from any distro by spinning a container with Distrobox and exporting the command to your main system.

[-] Vittelius@feddit.org 3 points 2 months ago

The universeal blue family of operating systems also comes with Homebrew, the Linux port of the popular Mac package manager. The idea being that flatpak is for GUI apps and homebrew for the cli

[-] wfh@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago

Oh yeah thanks I forgot about brew. TBH the only uBlue machine I'm currently playing with is destined to be my dad's new computer, so he's not expected to get anywhere near the command line :D

[-] luciferofastora@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago

Pretty sure I installed protontricks from a flatpak too, and that one is a console app. But it depends on some flatpak being available for the app.

Like the other reply said though, you can use other means to install apps in ways that don't require altering system files.

[-] Blubber28@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

I am all open for suggestions! I will add a bit of context; I am proficient with Linux command line, good enough to troubleshoot if problems pop up. But I currently do not feel the desire to tinker a lot with the system itself, I just want to do daily driving, play games, and do some basic coding for fun. What value do those restricted licence codecs bring to the system?

[-] wfh@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

Hardware acceleration mostly.

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this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024
514 points (97.8% liked)

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